A man has died after being trapped beneath a collapsing earth embankment in the Solankanda area of Nawalapitiya, police said. Disaster Management Centre Director Pradeep Kodippili, confirming the death at a media briefing on Monday afternoon, gave the victim’s age as 65; earlier police accounts put it at 67.
The man was seriously injured when a mound of earth gave way and collapsed onto a shop. He was admitted to hospital but later died of his injuries. His body has been placed at the Kuruduwatta Hospital in Nawalapitiya.
It was the first reported death from the wet spell that has brought more than 200 mm of rain to parts of the central hills in 24 hours. A second followed on Monday afternoon, when a woman was killed by an earth collapse at Polpitiya in Hatton and three people were left missing.
Road blocked, families moved
A second earth embankment collapsed onto the Nawalapitiya–Dolosbage road near the 2nd Mile Post, blocking it. The Disaster Management Centre said work to clear the debris and restore access has begun.
About 10 families in Nawalapitiya were moved to safer locations early in the day after flooding caused by the overflowing Maskeli Oya, NewsFirst reported. By Monday afternoon that figure had risen sharply: Kodippili told the briefing that 138 people from 38 families in Nawalapitiya had been evacuated and relocated because of the flood threat.
Floodwater has also reached the Labuwalkotuwa and Kitulkote areas on the banks of the Mahaweli River at Nawalapitiya. Residents of more than 20 households have temporarily moved in with relatives, according to police.
More flooding expected
The Disaster Management Centre has warned that a minor flood situation could develop around Peradeniya, Gampola and Nawalapitiya as Mahaweli water levels continue to rise.
DMC Director General Major General (Retd.) Sampath Kotuwegoda said the Kotmale Reservoir was expected to spill from 3.00 p.m. on Monday, which would push river levels higher still. The Udunuwara, Udapalatha, Yatinuwara, Ganga Ihala Korale, Pasbage Korale and Gangawata Korale areas are at risk of minor flooding, the centre said.
The Tri-Forces and police have been deployed to the affected areas, and district officials have been instructed to prepare for possible evacuations.
Nawalapitiya recorded 153.4 mm of rain in the 24 hours to 6.00 a.m. Monday. The area sits inside the zone covered by the Red major-flood alert issued for ten Mahaweli divisions, and a tourist hotel in the area was flooded earlier in the day as roads across the hill country were cut by rockfalls and floodwater. Three spill gates at the Upper Kotmale Reservoir opened automatically overnight.
